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Fantasia 2020: ‘The Dark and the Wicked’ is Dark, Wicked, Genuine Horror
Bryan Bertino first shocked audiences with The Strangers, stinging our sense of isolation horror and creating a whole new brand of stranger danger. With The Dark and the Wicked, Bertino turns that sting into a stab, twisting in new terrors to haunt your dreams. The film is a horrific nightmare from which siblings Louise (Marin Ireland, Hell or High Water) and Michael (Michael Abbott Jr., Mud) cannot wake.
With their father near death and their mother struggling to manage the family farm, Louise and Michael return home, despite their mother urging them to stay away. There’s a palpable feeling of darkness settling over the farm, and Louise and Michael soon come to realize that something is very, deeply wrong. Something is coming for their ailing father, and there’s no hope to stop it.
Filmed on the actual Bertino family farm, the cold rural setting encourages discomfort. There’s no warmth in this family home, no sense of belonging. Early scenes with the siblings and their mother are loaded with formality and distance. There is a distinctly stilted relationship within the family. It makes the following events even more unnerving as you never feel quite comfortable there to begin with.
A sense of dread builds through the film, and stillness steeps it to the point where it’s almost unbearable. Something as simple as chopping carrots can torture you with tension. The music (by Tom Schraeder) is delicate but with a clear weight that pulls you down. The shot framing, the editing, the sound design, every element is perfectly balanced in a way that absolutely ruins your nerves.
We move through the story day by day, with title cards announcing our progress. Without knowing where we’re going to end up, there’s a sense of anticipation, especially when you realize just how much can happen in one day on this hellbound homestead.
The Dark and the Wicked is formed around the loss of a parent. It’s an inevitability that most of us will have to deal with at one point or another in our lives, and it’s a sobering thought. Bertino weaves in the idea of finding religion late in life; some may seek comfort in the warm bosom of the bible as they creep closer to the great unknown. But what if these newfound beliefs are formed not from a place of comfort, but a place of fear.
It’s this fear that churns through the film, chugging away like an old steam engine, growing in power until it’s about to burst. Louise and Michael can feel it, can sense it, but there’s nothing they can do to slow it down. You feel their utter sense of hopelessness. A great evil is not coming, it’s already here.
In these moments, Bertino plays with shadows, lighting, and sound to build an atmosphere that vibrates with true horror. It’s rare to find a film that makes me feel anxious anymore, but The Dark and the Wicked gave me that “I’m scared to watch but I can’t look away” feeling that every horror fan yearns for. Some moments are a flash in the pan, but for the truly upsetting scenes, Bertino holds you there, unflinching, draining every last bit of terror he can. In one aforementioned carrot chopping scene, you fully anticipate what might happen, yet I was still so fraught with tension that I could barely stand it.
Bertino pushes his characters to the brink of sanity and holds them there, leaning over the edge, about to drop into a deep abyss. There’s no turning back, no escaping it. No one is safe. The more the film progresses, the more you realize this, and you cannot look away.
The Dark and the Wicked lives up to its title. It’s a true horror film, loaded with genuine fear and a heavy, bleak, deeply upsetting ending that will undoubtedly stick with you. Bertino has proven himself to be one of the new masters of horror, and this film will surely make its way into many Top Horror of 2020 lists. It’s mean, it’s dark, and it’s seriously fucking wicked.
For more from Fantasia 2020, check out our review of Anything for Jackson.
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Movies
Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed
The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.
Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.
The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.
Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”
Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.
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News
Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.
The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.
“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.
Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.
The prize also includes:
An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings
A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear
A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room
A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course
The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II
Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two
“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”
Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.
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Movies
’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power
Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.
Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.
Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.
There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.
The original film followed Jim (Cillian Murphy) who wakes from a coma to find that London is currently dealing with a zombie outbreak.
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